At Any Cost - Betty Stam

1906–34

Betty Scott grew up as the daughter of missionaries in China. At the age of ten she wrote a poem that began with these words:

I cannot live like Jesus

Example though He be

For He was strong and selfless

And I am tied to me.

Those are wise words for a child. While Betty certainly never became just like Jesus, she did prove to be very strong and selfless as an adult. By the age of eighteen, she wrote that she was willing to give up all her own plans and purposes, give herself to Jesus, and accept his whole will in her life “at any cost.”

While attending Wilson College in Pennsylvania, she met John Stam. They wanted to marry but gave up their own plans because John was involved with a mission in China that sent only single men. Even though Betty was also headed to China for missions work, they didn’t think they’d see each other for a long time. Through a series of unexpected circumstances, they ended up in the same place. They were married a year later, in 1933. Their daughter, Helen, was born the next year.

Three months later, Betty made good on her decision to give her whole life to Jesus at any cost. Communists seized the city where the Stams ministered, abducted the missionaries, and executed them. They did not harm baby Helen, and somehow Betty had managed to slip some provisions and money in the baby’s blanket. Another missionary found the child two days later, and he was able to use the money to get her and his own sick son to safety.

After the martyrdom of Betty and John, Christian colleges in the United States saw an increase in students preparing for missions in foreign lands. Betty’s adult life as a missionary may not have lasted as long as she had hoped it would, but her influence as a missionary is still felt today as others step up to serve.

What influence does the story of Betty and John have on you?

Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Romans 12:1